asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the cost of the education per pupil in primary and secondary schools in the current year; and how this compares with the past 10 years.

Figures are not available for the current year or for the years 1968–69 to 1971–72. The figures for 1967–68 and for the years 1972–73 to 1978–79 are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the cost of educating a pupil at primary and secondary schools per local education authority in the current year.

My Department does not prepare figures of expenditure for each local education authority but analyses of their estimates and expenditure are contained in the education statistics published annually by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, copies of which are in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the number of children in private fee-paying primary schools to age 13 years and secondary schools, respectively; and what is the cost of educating a child in the State system in each of these categories.

In January 1978 in England and Wales there were 319,263 pupils between the ages of 5 and 13 in independent and direct grant schools and 186,251 pupils over 13. It is not possible to distinguish pupils between primary and secondary schools in the non-maintained sector. In the financial year 1978–79 the net institutional recurrent cost per child at maintained primary and secondary schools—including middle schools as appropriate—in England and Wales was, respectively £371 and £537, at 1979 survey prices.